HRW calls for end to Saudi witch hunts

KUWAIT CITY, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The government of Saudi Arabia should overturn a death penalty for a man accused of witchcraft and end the use of such vague charges, Human Rights Watch said.

"Saudi courts are sanctioning a literal witch hunt by the religious police," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Religious police in Saudi Arabia arrested Ali Sabat in Medina in May 2008 and charged him with witchcraft. The rights advocacy group says Sabat had returned recently from a series of interviews with Lebanese media where he offered advice and predictions about the future.

He was sentenced to death Nov. 9.

Human Rights Watch in 2008 called on the Saudi Ministry of Justice to codify the crime of witchcraft and clamp down on evidence used to back up the allegation.

"The crime of 'witchcraft' is being used against all sorts of behavior, with the cruel threat of state-sanctioned executions," said Whitson.

Justice officials told the group there was no legal definition for witchcraft. Human Rights Watch adds Riyadh has no penal code and very loose judicial procedures.

"Saudi judges should not have the power to end lives of persons at all, let alone those who have not physically harmed others," Whitson said.